Monday, July 30, 2007

Friday, July 27, 2007

Say what you will about W's administration, his nominees to the Supreme Court have been one campaign promise that he delivered on. It may be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of the liberals out there, but I believe that the president's lasting legacy will not be the "War on Terror" but Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito.

Even in the most recent completed full term, a number of 5-4 decisions on issues such as late term abortions, campaign finance laws, and school desegration policies have prompted Senators Arlen Specter and Chuck Schumer to make comments in recent days about the direction that the Supreme Court is moving. Here's Senator Schumer:

"Were we too easily impressed by the charm of nominee Roberts and the erudition of nominee Alito?" Schumer asked. "Did we mistakenly vote our hopes when our fears were more than justified by the ultraconservative records of these two men?"

"Yes," he said.

How about this: The reality at the time was that a Republican majority in Congress gave little lattitude for anyone but a strict constructionist with a proven track record (not Harriet Miers) to be sent up as a nominee. The end.

Which makes the 2008 election critical. The new President will have the responsibility of nominating at least one justice to the Supreme Court (maybe even two). Rudy says he will send up strict constructionists (at least his website says so) and I'm sure the other top tier candidates from the GOP would make similar pledges. The question becomes getting those judges confirmed.

So why is this post titled "The Supreme Court and Ron Paul"?

The GOP has the Supreme Court issue locked down. But on nearly everything else that conservative voters care about, they have pretty much dropped the ball. Ron Paul hasn't and he has the track record to prove it. An unknown at least among the GOP will be Iraq. Will voters have soured on this by the time the primaries roll around?

Based on current numbers, head to head, Giuliani loses against Hillary and Obama (all 3 being the presumed frontrunners) What is an unknown is how Paul would fare against Hillary or Obama. How many GOP voters would he be able to bring back to the fold since it has been taken over by the wing known affectionately by Pat Buchanon as the "War Party"?

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Worldnetdaily.com has a story on the Louisiana attorney who was recently found innocent of "willfull failure to file".

If there were an even greater indication of why the income tax is such a scam here's this:

Spokesman Robert Marvin in Washington's IRS office told WND the Internal Revenue Code provides for taxation on salaries or wages, but when pressed for a specific citation, or constitutional provision, he said, "I can'tcomment."

Why can't the government just answer the friggin question? This guy spent 10 years waiting for an answer. Some spokeshole in DC can't make a comment about it?

Monday, July 23, 2007

This is from 2005, I've been meaning to post this for awhile. It's an account a meeting that the President had back in 2005 with GOP Congressional leaders when discussing renewing the Patriot Act.

Several provisions of the act, passed in the shell shocked period immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, caused enough anger that liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union had joined forces with prominent conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly and Bob Barr to oppose renewal.

Here's the moneyshot:

"I don't give a goddamn," Bush retorted. "I'm the President and theCommander-in-Chief. Do it my way."

"Mr. President," one aide in the meeting said. "There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution."

This could be a trend. Ron Paul wants to get rid of the income tax and replace it with nothing (Bravo!!). This attorney, Tommy Cryer, spends 2 years doing research on the law and decides to stop filing. The IRS takes him to court and he beats them. Ed and Elaine Brown are doing the civil disobedience thing. Ed Shulz and his We the People group have their court cases winding their way through court. Will we see an end to the income tax? Or will the economy collapse first? I'm guessing the economy will collapse first.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Ron Paul received 49.5% of all contributions to Republican candidates from military folks last quarter, meaning he leads all other Republicans in military contributions. What's more, "Ron Paul leads all 2008 presidential candidates (Republican AND Democrat) in military contributions from the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and war veterans. Presidential candidate Ron Paul leads with an impressive one-third of all contributions this second quarter according to newly released data from the FEC." (Complete numbers here)

I'm keeping hope alive that the next great political trend in this country will be a return to the Constitution and the idea of a limited federal government. Reading stuff like this keeps me going.

UPDATE:

Michael Barone on Fox News talking about the donations from the military

I don't agree with his take on why Dr. Paul did so well with the military last quarter. It implies that military men and women are out looking to fight wars. The ones that I know don't, but they will and have when called upon to do so.

Under Georgia law, candidates of all parties run together in primaries to fill open House seats. Then the top two finishers -- no matter what their partisan affiliation --face each other in a runoff. In the overwhelmingly Republican district of the late Congressman Charlie Norwood, primary voting last month produced a run-off featuring two conservative Republicans.

Which led to this:

Given a choice between two conservative candidates, Georgia voters were asked: Do you want a candidate of the GOP establishment who promises to work with Republican leaders in Congress, or do you want an outsider who promises to go to Washington without strings attached?

The answer to that last question has always been to run for office as "the outsider". That ended up being the case here.

What piqued my interest, was the platform that the candidate who won ran on. Let's just say the newly minted Congressman's position could be considered remarkably similar to a certain Presidential candidate whose first name begins with "R" and ends with "n", and whose last name is also a first name...

As evidence of his independence, Broun emphasized a Ron Paul-like [campaign]committed to "work to restore government according to the Constitution as our Founders intended." While the Georgia[n] appears to be a more cautious constitutionalist than the maverick Texas congressman who is making a longshot bid for the party's presidential nomination in 2008, Broun borrowed one of the most popular of Paul's principles, promising that if elected he would assess any new legislation by first asking: "Is it constitutional and a proper function of government?"

People are realizing that the Feds have expanded their reach into citizens lives way beyond the scope of being a mere nuisance. And since I'm playing Nostrodamus with the economy, I'm going to make the call here on the 2008 presidential race.

It will be Ron Paul in a landslide.

As recently as yesterday, I was saying that "Dr. No" would probably, at most, be able to shape the debate for the GOP nomination. But, I think I've underestimated the power of Ron Paul's message.

The thing that has happened with Bill O'reilly has happened to Sean Hannity. When Fox News first came on the air, Bill and Sean were great. They asked good questions, they let the experts talk about their viewpoints, it made for interesting TV (to me, at least). What has happened in the last 5-6 years is that Bill and Sean have become insufferable egotists. They can't get out of their own way in fawning all over themselves. O'reilly is at least watchable (when he has people guest hosting) but Sean. He's a smaktard.

After an amazing five-year run that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJIA) increase in value fivefold, prices peaked at 381.17 on September3, 1929. The market then fell sharply for a month, losing 17% of its value on the initial leg down. Prices then recovered more than half of the losses over the next week, only to turn back down immediately afterwards. The decline then accelerated into the so-called "Black Thursday", October 24, 1929. A record number of 12.9million shares were traded on that day.

First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.

So said Ghandi in his quest to gain independence from England.

It is in that spirit that Ron Paul's campaign has grown from a grassroots movement initially ignored and ridiculed as the den of conspiracy nutjobs, 9/11 truthers, tax protesters, John Birchers and assorted "fringe" groups. Dr. Pauls campaign has grown exponentially in the past few months since the airing of the televised debates.

This blog has never made a secret of which presidential candidate it endorses. But objectively, it is fair to say that Dr. Paul has the chance to, at the very least, frame the issues and shape the debate for the GOP nomination. Following are the Randolphus Maximus conventional wisdom talking points for and against Dr. Paul:

Pros:

Trackrecord - Dr. Paul has spent nearly 10 terms in Congress, with a track record of never voting for a tax increase, government spending increase, or anything that would expand the powers of the federal government

Message - the small government message still resides in our national character, freedom from government intrusion still resonates with the GOP base. Eight years of "compromise" have led to unprecedented increases in entitlements and spending, to the disgust of conservatives everywhere. His stance on illegal immigration and abortion fall into line with most traditional conservatives.

Supporters - Dr. Pauls supporters are enthusiastic about his message. They haven't seen a candidate like this in a long time. He brings out the passion in voters that has been lacking in recent elections. Personally, I know that George W has been a disappointment on a lot of issues. As a side note, I think that W's lasting legacy will not be the "War on Terror" it will be his Supreme Court nominations (the one campaign promise he has made good on)

Electability-

Dr. Paul's anti-Iraq war stance appeals to a lot of conservatives who thought going into Iraq was a bad idea (I don't like that we didn't declare war on Iraq, but that's a whole other issue). It also appeals to the Dems who feel the same way.

Cons

Message- does a small government message have any appeal anymore? Yes, it sounds good, but does that translate into votes on election day.

Time- Does Ron Paul have enough time to get enough name recognition? When will it be enough to register as a player on traditional polls?

Resources-

$100 million dollars is what's needed to get a job that pays a quarter of a million dollars a year. Ron Paul has $2.5 million cash on hand. Is it enough? It's at least more than John McCain.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

In honor of Independence Day, hattip to Gorillamask. The idea for this list was swiped from Uber:

We're the best. Everybody knows it and that's why they're so dang jealous all the time. Sorry if our chicks are easily the hottest and our cars totally kick ass. It's not our fault we rule and everyone else in the world sucks. If anyone's got a problem with us we kick their ass or bomb their shit. BOOYA!

I like the intro but the list itself is kind of weak. So here's mine, with video evidence where applicable of course:

What does an obscure TV show from the 80's have to do with why America kicks ass? Because TV shows about our high tech prowess and know-how and its application in fighting badguys and saving lives is uniquely American. From Star Trek, to Airwolf, to Bluethunder, to Knightrider, Streethawk, to MacGuyver to ER and CSI, we know how to make shows with gadgets.

Imagine a whole store devoted to office supplies! I love walking among the aisles of inkjet cartridges, reams of paper, and pens, lots and lots of pens. The fact that there is a market for a store that caters to people's need to find cases of 24lb. 92 brightness recycled ecofriendly laser printer paper shows that commerce is alive in America.

The greatest city in the world. Period. The museums, the sights, the clubs, the bars, and the food. Strapz reminded me of how many different languages that you can hear just walking around Times Square. I was out there for two weeks and I don't recall ever having even an average meal. The fact that the sticker shock of visiting Manhattan ($20 for a mojito? $45 to park your car for a day?!?) was quickly forgotten since I was elbow deep in models and model wannabes sort reminds me of Vegas...which brings me to number 7

Let's see, gambling, world-class restaurants, prostitutes, drug dealers. Las Vegas is a city built on vice. It is also a city whose character is derivative of every other destination worthy place in the world. Want to see France? Don't want to be stuck with sitting next to dirty, stinky Frenchmen? Visit the Paris Hotel in Vegas!!! Want to take a gondola ride in Italy but don't want to sit in the dirty stinky water that plagues the canals in Venice? Visit the Venetian Hotel in Vegas!!! Never got laid in high school but think that the idea of meeting/getting intimate with a nice girl or two or three at the same time sounds neat? Stand at the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana and grab the card from the Mexican who's sticking them into the holes of the chainlink fence surrounding the latest casino under construction.

6. I agree with Uber's listing at #6:

The Unholy Trinity (Paris, Lindsay & Brtiney) - They show their cooters and nipples like it's nobody's business. Screw reading the news, show me some celebrity beaver! Yeee Haw!

5. Uber's #2 : Morbidly Obese People

We're fat and we're good at it. Even though McDonald's was forced to get rid of super sizing and KFC's chicken now has 0 grams of trans fat, America will continue to find new ways to keep it's citizens fat as shit.

The top four admittedly take a turn away from the spirit of Ubers list, but I have to say that I've had more of a chance to reflect on the title and this is what I've come up with:

4. Milton Friedman

A diminuitive man whose gianormous intellect and personality propelled him to become an economic advisor to Presidents and other world leaders. His message about economic freedom and monetary policy literally changed the world and set millions of people free. I'd like to give some love and mention Hayek and the influence of the Austrian school but this is a list about why America kicks ass after all.

3. Ronald Reagan

The Gipper, along with Milton Friedman, make the top 5. He is America. A man who, over the course of his life, married, divorced, married again, had kids, adopted a kid. He switched careers a few times, got into acting, got into politics. Oh yeah, his vision as President toppled the Soviet Union and set millions free. Yeah world, you're welcome.

2. We Americans have a Tradition of Rebellion

So goes the subtitle of this blog. What's interesting is we tend to rebel non-violently. Of course, our country was founded on a violent armed conflict and there was the whole Civil War thing. But look at the great social movements in this country, most have happened relatively peacefully. Women's suffrage, desegration, prohibition. It's too soon to tell, but I think that illegal immigration, and the ending of the income tax can be put on that particular list as well. Anyway, the number two reason why America kicks ass is because rebelling is part of our national character. That we do it peacefully is even better.

So said W when confronted by members of the GOP in talks about renewing the Patriot Act.

Yes, it's the same paper that's been around for a couple hundred years, the same piece of paper that W and everyone else in government swears to "protect and defend". It is also the same piece of paper that we can come back to when we've lost our way as a country.

The vision of Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, and all the other founding fathers has brought an unprecedented amount of freedom and wealth to us. How fortunate are we today that the phrase "you can't do that, it's unconstitutional" still carries at least a little weight with our government.

The Constitution is the number one reason why America kicks ass. There are many like it, but this one is ours. Happy Birthday America!

There used to be a tradition in this country of reading aloud the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at independence day celebrations around the country (at least that's what my "Little House on the Prairie" books used to tell me). I'm reviving that tradition this week.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Henry Lamb from Worldnetdaily.com writes an article that mentions two things that don't get talked about enough or not at all: the Electoral College and the 17th Amendment.

The Electoral College is an ingenious scheme to balance the power among small and larger states. Without the Electoral College, a few large states could elect the president, and the small states would be left completely out of the voting. But the wisdom of our founders foiled the monopoly of power for the big states.